NCAA DIII Previews 2011: No. 3 Salisbury

While the Sea Gulls won 21 games and advanced to their eighth championship game in nine years, Salisbury was ousted by a Tufts team that most DIII lacrosse fans didn't think would get within five goals of the 8-time national champions. Some key playmakers at attack are gone but Jim Berkman returns much of that championship squad, with first team All-Americans at midfield, defense and in between the pipes.

With some excellent transfers and players injured in past years re-entering the fold and outstanding experience all around, the Gulls are again expected to strongly contend for a championship.

In their first three wins, some new faces on attack have been worked in, most notably Syracuse/Maryland transfer Tony Mendes. The former Under Armour All-American was expected to dazzle at midfield alongside DIII middie of the year Sam Bradman (13, 4 in three games), but after unfortunate injuries to Matt Pierotti and Logan Keyser in the same practice, he'll look to do most of his damage from the attack position.

"Tony is a very talented player with a strong pedigree, but he's never played attack in his life. It's definitely a work in progress getting a guy with a different mindset to adapt to a brand new position and developing moves from behind as opposed to shooting and dodging from up top," Berkman said.

The 23rd-year head coach elaborated that he's also getting some other attackmen used to their new roles. Junior Matt Cannone, who has produced over 100 goals in his time on the Eastern Shore, and classmate Erik Krum who is back from an injury, take up the other two spots and have flourished so far.

A major focus during practice has been working on finishing from in close, something Salisbury struggled with in their game last week. Berkman noted that he's not seeing that quick dip 'n' dunk deception on the doorstep that Salisbury attackmen seem to be infamous for so inside finishing is something that's been worked on a lot.

A positive for Salisbury so far has been in the riding game, forcing Washington & Lee to go 23 for 33 in clearing in the Gulls' 7-4 home win last Wednesday. "It's definitely a big asset having those guys do a hell of a job riding," Berkman says. "Cannone has improved tremendously in that sense, and Mendes and Krum are very fast and tenacious as well so it's a major upgrade there."

Though many Division III coaches will say the unit is the heart of soul of their team, the shortstick defense midfield unit is often overlooked. Two d-middies are transfers in Parker Dickerson (Essex CC) and Corey Nowak (Onondaga CC) are new to the team, while 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior Dean Rossi is returning from injury. "It's definitely been a real luxury having those guys set the tone - in our first three games, one of those guys went out and scored the first goal of the game. We're very happy about the impact our defensive midfield is making, especially when you throw in Andrew Sellers at longpole who is a big difference maker."

Despite losing Ryan Finch (211-for-359 in 2010) to graduation, the face-off men have also been a pleasant surprise for Salisbury due to some new faces. Cortland transfer Tyler Granelli has emerged as the #1 faceoff man, going 28-for-39, including a 8-for-10 outing against Washington & Lee. Freshman Chris Turner has also flourished, going 12-for-16.

The aforementioned Sam Bradman is set to surpass his 86 points from a year ago, and a big part of that extra step he's taken has been due to playing box lacrosse in Canada in the summer. "Sam played thirty games in Canada this summer and that's really helped his already deft skill set. He always has the green light, but more importantly he creates such great opportunities for other guys," Berkman states. "He's really improved his left hand and has generally gotten that much better in every way."

Junior Ryan Clarke and senior Shawn Zordani, who ran first line last year, are other weapons from the midfield who benefit from having Bradman drawing the opponents' attention. Clarke took the year off from lacrosse last season and has thrived already, while Zordani is a seasoned leader that is another big piece of the puzzle.

Defensively, the Sea Gulls will again be rock solid with the return of a pair of preseason first team All-Americans in goalkeeper Johnny Rodriguez and defenseman Collin Tokosch. "J-Rod" is one of the most athletic netminders Salisbury has had in years and has the experience and skills to get them back to championship weekend. Nick Mooney is an underrated defenseman that has done an exceptional job so far, while Chad Surman and Danny Sherr have been splitting time at the third spot. Surman is another Onondaga transfer and a much needed lefty d-man and Sherr is a local product who started at Hofstra in September before transferring to Salisbury.

The Sea Gulls were knocked off by Stevenson in the Capital Athletic Conference final last year and will have their hands full returning to championship weekend as the Mustangs field another tremendous squad. The two played eight times in the past three years and have developed a huge rivalry.

Salisbury will have a big test this weekend at home against Gettysburg, who will be coming off a loss this past weekend to Hampden-Sydney. The game will be televised in the Baltimore area on ABC2, set for a 2PM face-off.

Note: Rankings for the NCAA Previews are based off the 2011 Face-Off Yearbook.